Happy New Year

January 1st. Hard to believe it's here. Haven't really thought about the coming year. Maybe because we spent the Christmas holiday in Youngstown, Ohio with Anne's folks, and I did alot of reflecting there. One thing for sure. Finding it harder to go back to Youngstown, and easier to leave. Enjoy my in-laws, but miss my folks. A true reminder of the years passing & how things change. Seeing where I grew up, friends gone. Some died, others just moved on. More change. Still connected with most of my cousins, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel church, my brother in spirit..Dave C., and a few HS friends. Still feel a sense of identity & roots there, though I planted my roots in Nashville some 32 years ago. Interesting to see my hometown through my children's eyes. My cousin's restaurant(Hey Dad, how are we related again..OK..you lost me..?), Handels Ice Cream, & Mill Creek Park. Glad I gave them a different opportunity to grow up in though. Much like my grandparents did for us in leaving Sicily & Italy. Glad for the upbringing of my own folks, who gave me their many gifts, including their gift of letting go. So I guess my new year spirit of reflection really started last week, as I was visiting Y-Town for Christmas week, & then leaving Youngstown on Dec. 27th, heading back home with my wife, daughter(in from Boston), and teen aged son. Reflecting on the past & future, closing out another year heading out on 1-80 West, welcoming a change of scenery as we headed home, and looking in the rear-view mirror reminding myself of why I left Youngstown in the first place. Situations change, dreams change, and I guess I've changed, too. Still, I recall the words from Paul Simon's little known verse of The Boxer. "Changes upon changes we are more or less the same." So...maybe things haven't changed that much at all. Here's to another year of reaching for those old & new dreams & enjoying life con mi familia & mi amicos. Love to all..Happy New Year. Tom